This is a blog of my experiences with dogs -- as an owner and as someone who worked with them professionally. Hopefully what I've learned from my experiences will also help you with caring for your own dog.

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Monday, November 12, 2012

“Raisin” Awareness: A common food you might not have known is potentially toxic to your dog.

It
seems a little random, I know, but did you know that grapes (and their
dried counterpart, raisins) can be very harmful to dogs? I was surprised to
find this out when I first got Leopold (and consequently delved into
the world of dog knowledge!).

Grapes contain a toxin that can
cause the kidneys to fail in some dogs, which will lead to death if
untreated. This does not happen in all dogs and I’ve heard many stories
about people who feed their dogs grapes all the time without observable
consequences. I imagine that, just like humans, tolerance to certain
foods varies from dog to dog. Unfortunately, some dogs have dangerous
reactions to consuming grapes and raisins, and this fruit has been known
to cause the untimely death of many canines. The risk is high enough that
the general advice is to just not give your dog grapes and raisins at
all.

What can happen if a dog eats grapes or raisins?
A
dog might start to have some gastrointestinal upset including vomiting,
diarrhea, and abdominal pain, and in some cases lethargy and
depression. Following that, a dog’s kidneys can start to fail (acute
renal failure). Renal failure is very serious and will lead to death if
left untreated.

Why does this happen?
As someone who
is forever interested in the mechanistic components involved in
everything, I’ve been looking into what exactly it is about grapes that
are bad. Unfortunately, like many topics I research online, information
varies. On the boards, I found some that say it’s only the seed (“My vet
told me…blah blah blah”), some say it’s the skin. Many published
resources say it is an “unknown” toxin. Basically, they just don’t know
yet what about the grape causes the problem. What IS known is that
sometimes grapes can cause a dog to go into renal failure and die.
Personally, I’d rather not take the risk and I don’t ever give my dogs
grapes or raisins. The way I see it, there are lots of other yummy
treats available (blueberries, for example) that are known to be safe
and even healthy. So why risk it?

What should you do if your dog eats grapes or raisins?
Take
them to the vet! Right away! I’ve seen more than a few dogs come into
the emergency clinic because they ingested raisins or grapes. When we
have a dog come in that has eaten grapes or raisins, we generally try to
induce vomiting if the grapes/raisins have been eaten within the past
few hours. We once had a pair come in that had gotten into some holiday
cinnamon-raisin bread (which was particularly disgusting because the
cinnamon made the vomit smell delicious. Bleh!). We also sometimes feed
the dog a substance that soaks up any toxins that might still be in the
dog’s gut, and we monitor blood chemistry to help evaluate kidney
function.

Grapes may be a tasty treat for humans, but they’re best left out of your dog’s diet.

About Me

Hello! My name is Laura. I am currently a stay-at-home-mother caring for one wonderful little boy, two pound puppy mutts, and of course one grown and very handsome man who would be oh-so lost without me! Though... I would also be lost without him, so thank goodness we have eachother.
My interests are endless and include much of the natural world, but I suppose the three main things that define my life so far are ecology, dogs, and art.
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